Kansans Healthier in 2006 According to National Study

Kansas is recognized as one of the states with the highest overall health improvements in 2006 in a national study released today. According to the 17th annual edition of America's Health Rankings, Kansas has the fourth highest overall health improvement in the nation since last year’s report with a 2.1 percent increase. With the increase, Kansas jumped six spots in this year’s report to number 17 overall.

“We’ve worked hard this year to encourage Kansans to make healthier lifestyle choices and it’s great we’re making progress,” said Governor Kathleen Sebelius.

According to the report, which is produced by United Health Foundation in partnership with the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention, Kansas scored high in several of the 18 areas of consideration. Kansas’s strengths include a low rate of uninsured population, a low prevalence of smoking, a low incidence of infectious disease, ready access to adequate prenatal care and high immunization coverage.

The report also noted that Kansas has some areas where improvement is needed including a comparatively high infant mortality rate and high prevalence of obesity.

“We are pleased with the fact that Kansans are becoming healthier,” said Roderick L. Bremby, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. “However, there is more work that needs to be done, including addressing our rate of infant mortality and decreasing our motor vehicle fatality rate.”

Kansas ranked 27th in motor vehicle deaths per 100 million miles driven. Reducing traffic fatalities and injuries has been the focus for the past year of a multi-agency initiative – Safer Driving, Safer Roads.

“While there’s been a modest increase in seatbelt usage, we’re still below the national average,” said Secretary Deb Miller of the Kansas Department of Transportation. “KDOT, the Kansas Highway Patrol and KDHE have joined forces to raise awareness of fatalities in our state and I am optimistic that the recommendations of the Governor’s safety task force will also result in fewer fatalities.”

"Although the state has experienced a reduction in fatal crashes every year since 2002, all Kansans must continue to do their part by driving safely and obeying traffic laws, said Kansas Highway Patrol Superintendent Colonel William Seck. “If we all work together, we will continue to save more lives every year."

The two areas that drove Kansas’s improvement this year were a 2 percent drop in smoking prevalence and a 6.3 percent increase in immunization coverage for children ages 19 to 35 months.

“Smoking prevention and increasing childhood immunization coverage have been areas of emphasis and it is very encouraging to see those efforts starting to pay dividends,” said Bremby.

In 2005, Kansas dropped to 43rd in the nation in immunization coverage. Initiatives developed by the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Immunizations brought Kansas immunizations up to 83.8 percent and jumped the state 30 places to 13th overall for childhood immunization coverage.

With fewer Kansans smoking - 17.8 percent in 2006 - Kansas improved from 11th in last year’s ranking to sixth this year. In 1990, Kansas ranked 27th in this area when 30.2 percent of the state’s population smoked.

America 's Health Rankings combines 12 individual measures classified within four determinants of health and six measures classified as health outcomes into one comprehensive view of the health of all 50 states. It utilizes a unique methodology that weights the contributions of various factors, such as smoking, preventable disease, high school graduation rates, children in poverty and others, to a community's health.

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